With sky blue edible flowers and roots that were used as a coffee substitute in the past, chicory is both a useful culinary and medicinal herb. It can also be found growing wild in the UK. 9x9cm pot (8cm depth)
Description
- Edible flowers
- Useful liver herb
- Attracts beneficial insects
- Include in a wildlife garden
Carrying chicory was once thought to remove obstacles that crop up in life and chicory harvested in perfect silence with a gold knife on midsummer at either noon or midnight made the possessor invisible - an interesting and beautiful plant to grow in the garden.
Plant Care
- Height: 60 – 100cm
- Type: Hardy
- Aspect: Sun
- Soil: Any/alkaline
- Flower colour: Blue
- Flowering period: July - September
Beautiful striking chicory flowers are produced all along the tall stems of this quite straggly perennial and it needs to be allowed to reach a decent height for a good display. It is easy to grow and prefers a relatively sunny site and although it will grow in a pot successfully, in the ground it will reach its full potential.
Usage
The flowers, leaves and roots of chicory have long been used for medicine and cooking. The long taproots are, like the dandelion are bitter and traditionally used as a medicine for the liver and digestive system. The ground roasted root has also gained some popularity as a coffee substitute because of the similar flavour and lack of caffeine. The young leaves can be added to salads and the older, more bitter ones blanched and eaten as a vegetable. The flowers look terrific in a salad or frozen into ice cubes and dropped into drinks.